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CityTokyoKAI Hakone occupies a prime spot for Mount Fuji viewsA dish at Sushi IchiThe hot spring at KAI Hakone“Tokyo is the best place in the world for sushi.It’s like if you want the best French food,you go to Paris”The menu is full of inventivesurprises right through to a creamysake-flavoured dessert.Another night, I walk theavenues of Ginza to Sushi Ichi,a far more traditional diningexperience. Inside, it looksexactly like the traditional sushirestaurants you see in films: awooden counter where customersare attended to by two master chefswith black kimonos and shavedheads. Owner Mazakusu Ishibashichats as he deftly slices tuna andclam, prepares wasabi-loaded sushior serves warm, smoky eel. “Sushiwas invented in Tokyo maybe 200years ago,” Mazakusu tells me. “It’sTokyo soul food. Tokyo is the bestin the world for sushi. It’s like ifyou want the best French food, yougo to Paris.”Next morning, I catch a trainout of the city. I’d read that Japan’siconic Mount Fuji had just beenawarded World Heritage Status byUNESCO. I couldn’t visit Tokyowithout taking a look and wasalso keen to experience a ryokan(traditional Japanese inn). I travel90 minutes to Hakone, within easyreach of Mount Fuji. Guests at KAIHakone are given traditional yukata(robes) and slippers, and roomshave tatami mats and sliding doors.But the design is modern, a lightgrey boutique hotel with a moderntake on Hakone’s famous hotsprings filling the lower floor. Aftera soak, I relax further with a twohourSaussurea Spa Treatment andenjoy a dinner banquet of tempura,sashimi and other seafood in theJapanese-style restaurant.In the morning, I set out forMount Fuji, taking the cablecar up to viewpoints around thevolcanic area of Owakudani. Butthe world-famous mountain isplaying shy today; the peak is hidingbehind rain and thick cloud. I’mdisappointed but there’s someconsolation in a gentle cruise acrossLake Ashi. And missing out onMount Fuji gives me a fine excuseto return to Japan very soon. n66 September 2013 dotwnews.com